Arthroscopy is a minimally invasive technique for removing diseased or damaged tissue from intra-articular regions of the body, such as the shoulder, hip, wrist, knee, and spine. Arthroscopic shavers can be used to remove bone, cartilage, and other soft tissue from a patient's joint with less surgical trauma to the joint than conventional surgical techniques. Typically, an arthroscopic shaver is an electro-mechanical device that includes a hand piece and a cutting assembly. The cutting assembly often has an elongate, rotatable member for cutting tissue and removing tissue and fluid from a surgical site. The shaver hand piece usually has an integrated aspiration/suction port for transferring tissue and fluid through the hand piece and to a waste collection container. The hand piece can be releasably mated to the cutting assembly so that the cutting assembly can be disposed of after each use.
During an arthroscopic procedure, the cutting assembly of the shaver is inserted into a small incision. Suction is applied to a suction port that extends through the handle, causing bodily tissue and associated fluids to flow through the cutting assembly and out through a proximal end of the hand piece. After the procedure is completed, the shaver blade is typically disposed of while the hand piece is sent to a processing center for cleaning and sterilization. Because fluid and tissue can become lodged inside of the hand piece, the hand piece must be thoroughly cleaned after each use through an aggressive series of brushing operations and/or using automated washing machines. Although the brushing is necessary to remove biological material from the hand piece, it can decrease the durability of the mechanical components and damage the seals within the shaver hand piece. There is also evidence that these conventional cleaning techniques are ineffective at removing biological material. The United States Food and Drug Administration has investigated the cleaning of the shaver hand pieces and found numerous cases where tissue has remained in the shavers after cleaning, compromising the sterility of a surgical site.
Accordingly, there remains a need for a tissue shaver that is easier to clean and that has a decreased risk of contaminating a surgical site.